Tick Tock Goes the Clock
by Rissa0319
Summary: TiMER technology has rooted itself in Lily's life, until she is convinced that it's time to let life take her on a wild ride, without a safety net. With the help of a few of her friends, she's going to learn that not everything can be explained, especially love. Spontaneity and shenanigans ensue, and Lily learns that love isn't really all she thought it would be...


Lily laid on her bed and watched the hours tick by on her old clock that hung above her calendar. She listened as the clock ticked by, minute after minute, hour after hour. She only wished the clock on her wrist would suddenly start ticking away, alerting her that her one true love was equipped with a timer. All she really needed to know was that he was out there, waiting for her. When the clock on the wall struck 4pm, she got up and walked out her front door. It was mid-July, so she walked out in shorts and a gorgeous emerald green tee-shirt to match her eyes. She had set up a meeting with her boyfriend, Amos, for 5pm. It would take her about 30 minutes to get to downtown London. Lily wasn't sure why she bothered to leave so early. Knowing Amos, he wouldn't be there until at least 5:30. Quite honestly though, Lily was sure she'd enjoy being alone in the city for a while. Lily was enamored with every aspect of London. The smell, the people, everything.

Lily walked around the city until about quarter to 5, then she began her journey to the clinic. Once she arrived, she sat outside, leaning against a parking meter, waiting for Amos' arrival. As she suspected, he didn't arrive until 5:30.

"Am I late?" Amos came up behind her, grinning sheepishly.

"A little." Lily replied, trying to brush it off, "Well, a lot actually, but I anticipated as much."

They shared an awkward hug before Lily questioned, "Are you ready to go in?"

"...about that. I'm not really sure about this, Lily," Amos began hesitantly, "I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to an operation like this. I'm not even sure I want to know at all!"

Lily tried to put on a big, comforting smile. She didn't understand why he wouldn't just suck it up and get it over with. The majority of the people in London had already had their timers installed, it's not like it was some new and risky operation.

"Amos, do you like me?" Lily questioned him, "Because if you do, don't you want to know I'm the one before we start planning our lives together? How are we supposed to build a relationship when we can't be sure we're it for each other without your timer!"

"Lily, you make a good point, but I'm still not sure I want to do this. Can't we talk about this a little more?" Amos was just stalling at that point, and Lily recognized it right away.

"Amos, I can't continue this without being sure you're the one. I don't want to get too attached to something that may or may not work out. There was a reason they invented the timer, and that's it. Now let's go. We're already late for your appointment."

Lily rushed Amos inside without another word of hesitation. When they walked into the building, there stood a young lady named Alice with a gigantic smile plastered on her face. Lily had met her before, when she brought in her first potential soulmate.

"Hello, Lily! Is this another hopeful?" Alice didn't quite realize how awkward her statement came out. Amos shot a questioning look towards Lily, but Lily just brushed it off.

"Why, yes, it is. Alice, meet Amos. Amos, this is Alice. She's going to take great care of you." Lily smiled at Amos in hopes he didn't dote on the fact that he was not the first boy she brought here.

"Hello, Amos! As Lily said, I'm going to take great care of you. You look a little nervous. Remember, breathe!" Alice smiled even wider, "Well, let's not wait any longer! Come on back, guys!"

Lily grabbed Amos by the arm and lead him into the back procedure room. Despite Lily's wishful thinking, Amos did not seem to be willing to let go of the fact that he wasn't the first boy she brought to the TiMER clinic.

"Lily, exactly how many guys have you brought here?" Amos looked a little angry, but Lily was quick on her feet.

"Amos, it really hasn't been that many. I've just had a slew of bad choices lately and with a few of them, I really dodged the bullet." Lily left it at that and rushed into the procedure room.

Alice began her spiel before Amos could further question Lily. The walls of the room were pristine white, as if brand new. All that it held were two regular chairs, a reclining chair for the patient, and a computer.

"First off, I'm going to need to see your ID and your chosen form of payment," Alice stated. Amos fished his ID and credit card out of his pockets with a shaky hand and passed it to Alice. She walked over to the computer and input his information and charged his credit card.

While she was on the computer, Alice began to engage in small talk.

"So, how long have you two been dating?" Alice was forever the gossip and clearly did not recognize when to keep her trap shut.

"About a month or so," Lily replied.

"Ahh, how sweet! So, Amos Diggory, 29 years old. Woah, 29 years old and no TiMER? How'd you manage that?" Amos just shrugged in reply. Alice handed him a contract, "Sign here, please."

Amos took the paper and pen from her hands and quickly scribbled his name on the dotted line.

"So is this going to hurt at all? I'm not really sure about what this operation entails. I've never really considered doing this until I met Lily," he asked timidly.

"Amos, I'm telling you not to worry at all. When I got mine I could barely feel it," Lily smiled reassuringly.

"She's right, Amos, and I will numb the area before implementing your TiMER. Now, did Lily explain how the TiMER works? I just want you to know that if your true love has already had a TiMER put into the system, a countdown will appear on yours. It counts down to the exact moment that you will meet the one you're meant to spend the rest of your life with!"

"I explained everything, Al. Are you ready to go, Amos?" Lily looked at him expectantly, "It's going to be so comforting to know we're actually meant to be with each other!"

Amos nodded to Alice, and she began the procedure. It was a relatively short operation that only took about a half hour. Lily waited in the lobby until Al came out to get her.

"He's all set, you can come see him now!" Al smiled and led Lily back to Amos.

"How did it go, Amos?" Lily was dying to know what his TiMER said.

"Alright, if you're ready, Amos, I can connect your TiMER to the system and find out what your countdown is!" Alice was so excited, and she really hoped that Amos and Lily would last, "Get excited, guys!"

Al typed everything into her computer and looked at Lily, smiled, and hit the button that would connect his TiMER to the network. Lily closed her eyes and hoped for the best, but she had a sinking feeling that Amos wasn't going to work out.

"All set!" Al exclaimed, "What does it say, Amos?"

"I'm going to meet the love of my life in 45 days, 9 hours, and 22 minutes!" Amos was so enthusiastic, but he turned to his soon to be ex-girlfriend and saw the disappointment in Lily's eyes as she looked at her still blank TiMER. "Lily, I'm sorry, I know you wanted us to work out. I'm sure the right guy is out there, waiting for you!" Amos tried to be reassuring, but he was failing miserably.

Lily thanked Al, wished Amos luck with the girl he was going to meet soon, and left the store. She wandered around downtown London a bit more, until she stumbled into a bar. She sat down in the only empty barstool and ordered a shot of tequila from the ruggedly handsome bartender.

He set down the drink in front of her and commented, "I'm going to guess by your choice of drink that you're having some man troubles."

Lily knocked back the shot and nodded, "How did you guess?"

He smiled knowingly, "After a few years of bartending, you get pretty good at guessing what's wrong with people. Everyone comes in here looking for a good listener, and they usually just turn to me and spill all of their problems. So what did he do?"

"He didn't _do_ anything, except get a TiMER. For a while there I was actually convinced he was the one for me, but I think I knew he wasn't. Deep down. I was just getting my hopes up. These damn TiMERs are more trouble than they're worth. I wish I hadn't have gotten one in the first place, but now I'm so focused on figuring out why the guy I'm supposed to be with hasn't gotten one. Isn't he curious? Doesn't he want to know that there is actually someone out there for him? Why hasn't he thought for a second that he's leaving some poor girl hanging, wondering if she actually even has a 'true love' out there? If you ask me, it's selfish not to get one." Lily was babbling on.

"I think some guys just believe in the good ole fashioned notion of love at first sight, without knowing it for sure. Don't you wish there was a bit of mystery? What happened to figuring it out as you go? It takes a bit of the fun out of falling in love. If you know that you're meant to be together, what makes you want to engage in the romance, be spontaneous, take risks?" he placed another shot in front of her, "If you ask me, I think everyone would be better of if they didn't have these dumb countdowns looming over their heads. You never know what is waiting around the next corner, but if you're TiMER is telling you that he can't possibly be the one for you, then you're certainly going to miss out on the chance to have a lot of fun. Who knows where it'll lead, and maybe it won't take you down the aisle one day, but at least you'll have a story to tell and some good memories to revisit."

Lily took what he was saying to heart, "So you think that this TiMER, she gestured to the blank countdown on her wrist, "is holding me back?"

He nodded, "I think that maybe you should give it a rest, see where life takes you. Find a guy and fall in love with him, without worrying about that dumb countdown. I believe that if you're really meant to be with someone, you'll know it. Science can explain many things, but it will never be able to pinpoint love."

Lily put down the empty shot glass, "You know, I think you're right about that. Maybe it's time I get rid of this thing for a little while. I'm really glad I ended up in here today...I'm sorry, I didn't ask for your name! I'm Lily Evans!"

The bartender took the glass from her and gave her a huge grin, "I'm glad you liked what I had to say, most people just want to babble on and on about how they messed up or whatever. My name is Sirius Black, lovely to meet you, Lily."

"Well, I better get going, the clinic closes in an hour. I'm actually really excited to get this thing taken off, it's become a bit of a crutch, I think. It's time I figured things out for myself. I hope I'll be seeing you again, Sirius, thank you again!" Lily put the money for her drinks down on the bar and waved goodbye to the friendly bartender.

"I think you will, Lily," Sirius replied to the retreating red-head.

"Al, are you still here?" Lily called into the clinic. The lobby was void of any people, and it was nearly closing time, "Alice?"

"Oh! Hi, Lily, just give me one second!" Alice replied.

Lily was anxious to get her TiMER taken out. Sirius was right, she needed to let life happen for a little while. It was time to stop driving boys away and forcing them to get TiMERs just to make sure they were right for each other. Who cares if they're not Mr. Forever? She needed to live a little. Fall in love with a boy without any unnecessary pressures or expectations. She was 21 years old! It was time to have some fun.

"Okay, Lily, what can I do for you?" Alice asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Yes, Al, there is. I need you to take my TiMER out," Lily declared quickly, "I've thought it through and I think it's time I live my life without it for a while."

"But Lily...you swear by the TiMER! You've brought like five guys in here to get them put in. Why the sudden change of heart?" Al was worried about Lily. She had gotten to know the redhead pretty well in the past few months, and it wasn't like her to make rash decisions.

"I talked to someone at a bar today, and he thinks that I might be holding myself back. He was right! I miss taking risks and letting love lead the way. I've been so focused on finding the one that I've missed out on so much. I want to fall in love carelessly, not worry about how long it's going to be until I see my future husband. I want to see where living stress-free takes me," Lily knew what she wanted. She was ready for a change, "Al, I'm sure I want to do this, don't worry."

"Lily…" Alice hesitated, "you know that once it's taken out, you can't get one put back in."

"Wait, really?" Lily hadn't known that, "So, if I decide to get rid of it, I will never know for sure?"

"Lily, I believe in the TiMER and the amazing things it's done to bring people together, but I do believe that for centuries, people knew who 'the one' was without the extra insurance," Alice looked at Lily, "if you think that this countdown, or lack thereof, on your wrist is holding you back, then I'm inclined to agree with you. I know that it's scary to take away the safety net, but I'm beginning to think that it's the best course of action for you. Just take a chance, Lily."

Lily took a deep breath, "Okay, Al, let's do it. Take out my TiMER."

"Okay, come on back and we'll get started," Alice smiled softly at her friend, "I'm proud of you, Lily. You're being really brave, I think. It will all work out for you, I just know it."

Nearly an hour later, Lily's TiMER was gone from her wrist, and Lily instantly felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She stared at the black space on her wrist. Two small, circular scars were left in her TiMER's place.

"Thank you, Al. I think this was a good thing for me to do. Well, that's it, I suppose," Lily looked at her friend, "I think we should hang out sometime, outside of this clinic. What do you think?"

"I think that would be awesome, Lily, what did you have in mind?" Alice asked.

"I found this new bar downtown, the bartender is really nice and gives some great advice. He's not too horrible looking, either!" Lily laughed loudly.

"Okay! Want to go after I finish my shift here tomorrow?" Al suggested, "You can meet me here, if you want?"

"Great! It's a date! I'll see you tomorrow, Al, I can't wait!" Lily hopped out of the chair, grabbed her coat, and headed home.

Lily couldn't stop staring at the small scars on her wrist. She knew it was the right decision for her, and she was excited at the thought of meeting a new boy and falling in love. No pressure was a good thing, she convinced herself.

Once home, Lily went straight to bed. She couldn't shake the feeling that something big was on the horizon. She was ready to see where love was going to take her. She quickly drifted off dreaming of all the possibilities that lie in front of her. She dreamt of romantic boys, amazing dates, spontaneous kisses, and the possibility of meeting "the one" on her own terms.


End file.
